


Under the Umbrella

by EmeraldStormborn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F-Bomb, F/M, One Shot, Post-War, Severus Snape Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25982263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldStormborn/pseuds/EmeraldStormborn
Summary: Severus Snape has the same dream for twenty years until his near death experience, and never once dares to believe the woman under the fuchsia umbrella is real.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 35
Kudos: 162
Collections: Hearts and Cauldrons - Daily Prompts!, Hearts and Cauldrons Discord Members





	Under the Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

  * For [franka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/franka/gifts).



> _For Franka who prompted us with the most beautiful picture today! Usual disclaimers apply. Warning for a little f-bomb at the end because, well, what a revelation!_

_September 1, 1981_

Severus breathed in the fresh scent around him. His dream was so real he could taste the soft fog in the area; could smell the sweetness of the stunning purple, pink and blue hydrangeas surrounding him. Lush greenery filled his vision as far as his eyes could see. Leafy trees leaned toward the flowers on the great hill before him, as if providing a protective covering for them. 

Up ahead, a woman with a fuchsia umbrella faced away from him, taking in the scenery. Her hair was twirled into a knot at the back of her head, her petite form encased in a taupe raincoat. He made his way toward her, taken by the vision before him. He moved slowly, not wanting to spook her, but drawn to her, always pulled to her like a moth to a flame.

He came up behind her and watched the light mist of rain fall on top of the trees in the distance. Tendrils of frizzy brown curls had escaped from her bun, hiding her face.

“You don’t have to be scared,” she suddenly murmured to him, her voice soft and kind. “I can share with you, if you like.”

Only in his dreams would anyone ever consider sharing with him. 

“I’m not bothered by a bit of rain,” he replied, but began to move closer to her side. “Who are you?”

“You know, Severus,” she responded with insistence. “Let me shield you. Let me care for you.”

She always said that, and it always threw him. He didn’t want or need anyone’s sympathy. His lip raised in a snarl, and just as he would have rebuffed her offer, a boom of thunder sounded.

Severus cursed as he awoke. He rolled out of his bed and trudged toward the loo, his head still foggy. The woman with the fuchsia umbrella in that beautiful dreamscape had haunted him for years. Would it ever end? He had made too many mistakes in his young life to ever hope for such a thing outside of his dream. He felt guilty for dreaming of anyone but the one he’d lost. Who was she? 

_It doesn’t matter, you fool,_ he hissed to himself. Today was a new beginning. His first day of teaching had arrived, and he intended to be in full command of his thoughts and feelings in his classroom. 

* * *

_Twenty years later_

Severus arrived late to the annual Commemoratory of Fallen Heroes. He loathed even stepping foot amongst those who still grieved, but Minerva had made it mandatory for the staff of Hogwarts to be there. Severus had almost been included in the first Commemoratory, but astonishingly enough, he’d survived the attempt on his life. He couldn’t think of a more ironic scenario than Severus Snape being included amongst heroes in a memorial service. 

“You’re supposed to be up there, old chap,” Lucius murmured to him as Severus attempted to stand next to the pardoned Malfoy patriarch. 

With a sneer, Severus quickly made his way toward the section meant to be for Hogwarts professors. He nearly stopped dead in his tracks with everyone staring at him as he spotted a fuchsia umbrella.

He recognized it. Plain as it may seem to others, it was so familiar to him it pained him. Surely, he was caught in another of those ridiculous dreams. He hadn’t had one since his near-death experience. 

Minerva turned to glare at him and motion him forward. Arthur Weasley was speaking and seemed to hardly notice Severus coming up the middle of the assembly. With haste, Severus went to stand by Pomona, but there was no room. She nudged him up to the front, and with a quick intake of breath he realized he was now standing beside the woman with the fuchsia umbrella. 

He felt the first drops of rain hit him and looked up incredulously. Was the very sky mocking him now? He looked down and noticed frizzy brown curls falling from a haphazard bun on the back of the woman’s head. His eyes moved over her petite form covered in a taupe raincoat to see the vibrant red heads of several Weasleys, with Potter bringing up the end of the line. 

He cursed.

“Oh, Professor,” a soft, kind voice came beneath the umbrella. “I can share with you, if you like.”

The umbrella was held higher and warm brown eyes met his.

_Hermione Fucking Granger._


End file.
